the_idle_threat
07-24-2006, 05:23 AM
From Packers Insider at JSO:
Front and center
Thompson attempting to redraw dotted line
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - General manager Ted Thompson couldn't have been more wrong a year ago when he kept calmly forecasting that the Packers would find serviceable replacements for elite guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera from among the four newcomers he brought to Green Bay.
His foray into unrestricted free agency for Adrian Klemm and Matt O'Dwyer fizzled. His selection of Junius Coston and Will Whitticker in the later rounds of the draft didn't work, either.
After watching horrible play at guard play a significant role in the decline of the offense, Thompson went a different direction this off-season. For the first time in a decade, the Packers took two offensive linemen in the first three rounds.
Daryn Colledge, from the second round, and Jason Spitz, from the third, could hardly be under more pressure. Rookies or not, they will enter training camp as the starting guards for an organization and a general manager that badly need them to succeed.
The situation reminds Jeff Jagodzinski, the first-year offensive coordinator, of 2000, when he was coaching the team's tight ends. That was the year when rookie Mark Tauscher took over for injured Earl Dotson at right tackle in Week 2 and rookie Chad Clifton replaced the ineffective Wahle at left tackle in Week 7.
"Everybody said, 'Oh (expletive), what are we going to do? We have to start two rookies,' " Jagodzinski remembered. "Well, we started them, and they've been starting ever since. So they've done it around here before, and they were two tackles. That's a lot harder than two inside guys.
"We are going to be very young up front, all right? But I've been there before. I wouldn't have taken these two guys if they were slugs."
Thompson's other move was drafting tackle Tony Moll in the fifth round, but little is expected of him this season. Meanwhile, Thompson let center Mike Flanagan and interior backup Grey Ruegamer depart in free agency. Backup tackle Kevin Barry suffered a season-ending thigh injury in May.
Thus, the Packers must find three legitimate starters for a unit that ranked among the league's finest in 2004. On paper, only a few teams appear to have weaker offensive lines than Green Bay.
Although Scott Wells has just four starts at center, both Jagodzinski and new offensive line coach Joe Philbin are confident the transition from Flanagan will be seamless.
"I've got zero reservations about that kid," Jagodzinski said, referring to Wells. "He's better than what I had, and he was a pretty damn good center. Same guy, but 'Wellsy' is more athletic."
Jagodzinski was referring to Todd McClure, the Atlanta Falcons' center since 2000 whom he coached last season. Last month, Pro Football Weekly ranked McClure as the league's eighth-best center.
"You can sleep at night with a guy like (Wells)," Philbin said. "This guy will prepare his butt off. He could be over-serious. Thing about him in pass protection, he's got a good base and he bends well and he's not going to get run over because he's a powerful guy. You're talking about one of the strongest guys on the team."
Colledge has the athleticism, intelligence and balance to fit perfectly at left guard in the new zone-style rushing attack. But he must make an adjustment after playing four years at left tackle for Boise State and prove he has the upper-body strength to anchor.
"The biggest thing he has to do inside is learn to play with leverage and play with a little better pad level," Philbin said. "That kind of showed up sometimes in the spring even when we didn't have pads."
Drafted to play center, Spitz was backing up Wells and swinging some at guard when the coaches installed him as the No. 1 right guard on June 12 mainly because of Coston's inexperience and inconsistencies. Spitz needs work as a pass blocker but still goes to camp as the starter.
"Let me tell you who that kid is," Jagodzinski said. "He is Frank Winters. That mentality, that's who we got with that kid. I'm not exaggerating this. He has the best hands for a lineman coming out that I've ever been around. It's like if you had a pair of handcuffs on and your hands never got wider than that. They're always right in the guy's chest. You coach the hell out of that, even with the old guys. It's uncanny how he can do that."
The Packers insist that Coston has the size, speed and athletic ability to develop at some point.
"He's been up one day and maybe not quite the same the next," Philbin said. "His biggest area of improvement is in the passing game. In the run game, he's going to be more than fine."
Another possibility at guard could be Chris White, a backup center with the ability to play every position.
"He can run, he's got some initial quickness and he has real good hands in protection," Philbin said. "You get concerned if he can hold up against the big D-tackles in our division. We'll find that out."
Clifton might have had his poorest season as a pro and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in May for the third time in four years. Still, he is recognized as one of the top 10 tackles in the game.
Whereas Clifton was sidelined the entire off-season, Tauscher endeared himself to the new staff with 100% attendance and a growing leadership role.
"I really liked what he did in the off-season," Philbin said. "You're not going to look at him and say the guy's a body builder or a power lifter. By the same token, he has pretty good functional strength and knows how to use his body well."
Without Barry, the fight for two backup tackle berths will be waged among Klemm, Whitticker, Moll and a respectable rookie free agent, Josh Bourke.
The Falcons, according to Jagodzinski, wanted to sign Klemm as a backup tackle in March 2005 but were out-bid by Green Bay. Klemm was too soft for guard but might have the feet to play left tackle.
Jagodzinski said Whitticker's best chance was at right tackle. He's too cumbersome for guard in this system and will have to report lighter and in tip-top shape to fit the svelte new profile for blockers in Green Bay.
As for Moll, who struggled in May before improving in June, Jagodzinski said, "He put on, like, 50 pounds in a year. That's a lot of bad weight. He's a guy I'd like to keep and develop. It will be awhile for him to get on the field."
At a Glance:
The 14 offensive linemen on the Green Bay roster heading into training camp next week. Each player is listed with height, weight, age, how acquired and college. Acquisition categories: D2 means second-round draft choice, UFA means unrestricted free agent; FA means free agent. Tackles at a Glance
Player Ht. Wt. Age Acquired College
CHAD CLIFTON
6-5
330
30
D2-'00
Tennessee
Tied for the club lead in sacks allowed with 3½ after yielding just five in previous three seasons. Also responsible for 12½ “bad†runs, more than double his total of six in ’04.
MARK TAUSCHER
6-3 1/2
315
29
D7-'00
Wisconsin
Steady, consistent player with just nine penalties in last three seasons (compared with 29 for Clifton) and yield of merely 11 sacks in six seasons, including four as a rookie.
ADRIAN KLEMM
6-4
318
29
UFA-'05
Hawaii
Played all 16 games in ’05 for only second time in six-year career but missed the entire off-season after damaging his posterior cruciate knee ligament 30 minutes into first minicamp practice.
TONY MOLL
6-4 1/2
308
22
D5-'06
Nevada
Weighed 250 and had been strictly a tight end until being moved to O-line in spring 2005. Scaled 308 this spring; coaches hope to cut his weight, then reshape his body.
WILL WHITTICKER
6-5 1/2
338
23
D7-'05
Michigan State
Generally started at right guard from 2001-’04 for Spartans and for 14 games for Packers in ’05. Allowed 30½ pressures, most by any lineman in Green Bay from 1999-2005.
JOSH BOURKE
6-6 1/2
314
23
FA-'06
Grand Valley State
Starting right tackle in an elite NCAA Division II program in ’02 and left tackle in ’03 and ’05, sitting out ’04 with torn anterior cruciate knee ligament. Given $10,000 signing bonus in May.
KEVIN BARRY
6-4
332
27
FA-'02
Arizona
Re-signed in March for $2.79 million over two years before suffering torn thigh muscle May 21 in non-contact drill. Underwent surgery and now rehabilitating for ’07.
Guards at a Glance
DARREN COLLEDGE
6-4 1/2
299
24
D2-'06
Boise State
Compared by some scouts to Mike Wahle. Both were collegiate left tackles but Colledge started all four years compared with Wahle’s one at Navy. As a rookie, Wahle played just one snap in one game.
JASON SPITZ
6-3 1/2
313
23
D3-'06
Louisville
First O-lineman drafted from Louisville since T Roman Oben in ’96. T Bruce Armstrong (New England, first round, ’87) was Cards’ only O-lineman picked in first two rounds since ’67.
JUNIUS COSTON
6-3 1/2
317
22
D5-'05
North Carolina A&T
Started for 3½ seasons in college at left guard, right guard and center. Only playing time in ’05 was three snaps at LT in 52-3 rout of New Orleans at Lambeau Field.
PETE TRAYNOR
6-3
311
26
FA-'06
Iowa
Lettered three years (2000-’02) at Iowa under Packers O-line coach Joe Philbin but wasn’t a starter. A native of Milton, he started at guard in NFL Europe League this spring.
Centers at a Glance
SCOTT WELLS
6-2
304
25
D7-'04
Tennessee
Started only 10 games, including final eight at LG after Klemm was benched, but still allowed the second-most pressures of any lineman on the roster with 22½.
CHRIS WHITE
6-2
290
23
FA-'05
Southern Mississippi
Two-year starter at LT (with some time at RG) for Golden Eagles. The Packers signed him to a two-year contract ($7,000 signing bonus) after the ’05 draft and moved him to C.
WAYNE LUCIER
6-3 1/2
315
26
FA-'06
Colorado
Two-year starter in college and seventh-round pick by Giants in ’03. Started 20 games in 2003 and ’04, including eight at C, seven at LG and five at RG
Front and center
Thompson attempting to redraw dotted line
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - General manager Ted Thompson couldn't have been more wrong a year ago when he kept calmly forecasting that the Packers would find serviceable replacements for elite guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera from among the four newcomers he brought to Green Bay.
His foray into unrestricted free agency for Adrian Klemm and Matt O'Dwyer fizzled. His selection of Junius Coston and Will Whitticker in the later rounds of the draft didn't work, either.
After watching horrible play at guard play a significant role in the decline of the offense, Thompson went a different direction this off-season. For the first time in a decade, the Packers took two offensive linemen in the first three rounds.
Daryn Colledge, from the second round, and Jason Spitz, from the third, could hardly be under more pressure. Rookies or not, they will enter training camp as the starting guards for an organization and a general manager that badly need them to succeed.
The situation reminds Jeff Jagodzinski, the first-year offensive coordinator, of 2000, when he was coaching the team's tight ends. That was the year when rookie Mark Tauscher took over for injured Earl Dotson at right tackle in Week 2 and rookie Chad Clifton replaced the ineffective Wahle at left tackle in Week 7.
"Everybody said, 'Oh (expletive), what are we going to do? We have to start two rookies,' " Jagodzinski remembered. "Well, we started them, and they've been starting ever since. So they've done it around here before, and they were two tackles. That's a lot harder than two inside guys.
"We are going to be very young up front, all right? But I've been there before. I wouldn't have taken these two guys if they were slugs."
Thompson's other move was drafting tackle Tony Moll in the fifth round, but little is expected of him this season. Meanwhile, Thompson let center Mike Flanagan and interior backup Grey Ruegamer depart in free agency. Backup tackle Kevin Barry suffered a season-ending thigh injury in May.
Thus, the Packers must find three legitimate starters for a unit that ranked among the league's finest in 2004. On paper, only a few teams appear to have weaker offensive lines than Green Bay.
Although Scott Wells has just four starts at center, both Jagodzinski and new offensive line coach Joe Philbin are confident the transition from Flanagan will be seamless.
"I've got zero reservations about that kid," Jagodzinski said, referring to Wells. "He's better than what I had, and he was a pretty damn good center. Same guy, but 'Wellsy' is more athletic."
Jagodzinski was referring to Todd McClure, the Atlanta Falcons' center since 2000 whom he coached last season. Last month, Pro Football Weekly ranked McClure as the league's eighth-best center.
"You can sleep at night with a guy like (Wells)," Philbin said. "This guy will prepare his butt off. He could be over-serious. Thing about him in pass protection, he's got a good base and he bends well and he's not going to get run over because he's a powerful guy. You're talking about one of the strongest guys on the team."
Colledge has the athleticism, intelligence and balance to fit perfectly at left guard in the new zone-style rushing attack. But he must make an adjustment after playing four years at left tackle for Boise State and prove he has the upper-body strength to anchor.
"The biggest thing he has to do inside is learn to play with leverage and play with a little better pad level," Philbin said. "That kind of showed up sometimes in the spring even when we didn't have pads."
Drafted to play center, Spitz was backing up Wells and swinging some at guard when the coaches installed him as the No. 1 right guard on June 12 mainly because of Coston's inexperience and inconsistencies. Spitz needs work as a pass blocker but still goes to camp as the starter.
"Let me tell you who that kid is," Jagodzinski said. "He is Frank Winters. That mentality, that's who we got with that kid. I'm not exaggerating this. He has the best hands for a lineman coming out that I've ever been around. It's like if you had a pair of handcuffs on and your hands never got wider than that. They're always right in the guy's chest. You coach the hell out of that, even with the old guys. It's uncanny how he can do that."
The Packers insist that Coston has the size, speed and athletic ability to develop at some point.
"He's been up one day and maybe not quite the same the next," Philbin said. "His biggest area of improvement is in the passing game. In the run game, he's going to be more than fine."
Another possibility at guard could be Chris White, a backup center with the ability to play every position.
"He can run, he's got some initial quickness and he has real good hands in protection," Philbin said. "You get concerned if he can hold up against the big D-tackles in our division. We'll find that out."
Clifton might have had his poorest season as a pro and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in May for the third time in four years. Still, he is recognized as one of the top 10 tackles in the game.
Whereas Clifton was sidelined the entire off-season, Tauscher endeared himself to the new staff with 100% attendance and a growing leadership role.
"I really liked what he did in the off-season," Philbin said. "You're not going to look at him and say the guy's a body builder or a power lifter. By the same token, he has pretty good functional strength and knows how to use his body well."
Without Barry, the fight for two backup tackle berths will be waged among Klemm, Whitticker, Moll and a respectable rookie free agent, Josh Bourke.
The Falcons, according to Jagodzinski, wanted to sign Klemm as a backup tackle in March 2005 but were out-bid by Green Bay. Klemm was too soft for guard but might have the feet to play left tackle.
Jagodzinski said Whitticker's best chance was at right tackle. He's too cumbersome for guard in this system and will have to report lighter and in tip-top shape to fit the svelte new profile for blockers in Green Bay.
As for Moll, who struggled in May before improving in June, Jagodzinski said, "He put on, like, 50 pounds in a year. That's a lot of bad weight. He's a guy I'd like to keep and develop. It will be awhile for him to get on the field."
At a Glance:
The 14 offensive linemen on the Green Bay roster heading into training camp next week. Each player is listed with height, weight, age, how acquired and college. Acquisition categories: D2 means second-round draft choice, UFA means unrestricted free agent; FA means free agent. Tackles at a Glance
Player Ht. Wt. Age Acquired College
CHAD CLIFTON
6-5
330
30
D2-'00
Tennessee
Tied for the club lead in sacks allowed with 3½ after yielding just five in previous three seasons. Also responsible for 12½ “bad†runs, more than double his total of six in ’04.
MARK TAUSCHER
6-3 1/2
315
29
D7-'00
Wisconsin
Steady, consistent player with just nine penalties in last three seasons (compared with 29 for Clifton) and yield of merely 11 sacks in six seasons, including four as a rookie.
ADRIAN KLEMM
6-4
318
29
UFA-'05
Hawaii
Played all 16 games in ’05 for only second time in six-year career but missed the entire off-season after damaging his posterior cruciate knee ligament 30 minutes into first minicamp practice.
TONY MOLL
6-4 1/2
308
22
D5-'06
Nevada
Weighed 250 and had been strictly a tight end until being moved to O-line in spring 2005. Scaled 308 this spring; coaches hope to cut his weight, then reshape his body.
WILL WHITTICKER
6-5 1/2
338
23
D7-'05
Michigan State
Generally started at right guard from 2001-’04 for Spartans and for 14 games for Packers in ’05. Allowed 30½ pressures, most by any lineman in Green Bay from 1999-2005.
JOSH BOURKE
6-6 1/2
314
23
FA-'06
Grand Valley State
Starting right tackle in an elite NCAA Division II program in ’02 and left tackle in ’03 and ’05, sitting out ’04 with torn anterior cruciate knee ligament. Given $10,000 signing bonus in May.
KEVIN BARRY
6-4
332
27
FA-'02
Arizona
Re-signed in March for $2.79 million over two years before suffering torn thigh muscle May 21 in non-contact drill. Underwent surgery and now rehabilitating for ’07.
Guards at a Glance
DARREN COLLEDGE
6-4 1/2
299
24
D2-'06
Boise State
Compared by some scouts to Mike Wahle. Both were collegiate left tackles but Colledge started all four years compared with Wahle’s one at Navy. As a rookie, Wahle played just one snap in one game.
JASON SPITZ
6-3 1/2
313
23
D3-'06
Louisville
First O-lineman drafted from Louisville since T Roman Oben in ’96. T Bruce Armstrong (New England, first round, ’87) was Cards’ only O-lineman picked in first two rounds since ’67.
JUNIUS COSTON
6-3 1/2
317
22
D5-'05
North Carolina A&T
Started for 3½ seasons in college at left guard, right guard and center. Only playing time in ’05 was three snaps at LT in 52-3 rout of New Orleans at Lambeau Field.
PETE TRAYNOR
6-3
311
26
FA-'06
Iowa
Lettered three years (2000-’02) at Iowa under Packers O-line coach Joe Philbin but wasn’t a starter. A native of Milton, he started at guard in NFL Europe League this spring.
Centers at a Glance
SCOTT WELLS
6-2
304
25
D7-'04
Tennessee
Started only 10 games, including final eight at LG after Klemm was benched, but still allowed the second-most pressures of any lineman on the roster with 22½.
CHRIS WHITE
6-2
290
23
FA-'05
Southern Mississippi
Two-year starter at LT (with some time at RG) for Golden Eagles. The Packers signed him to a two-year contract ($7,000 signing bonus) after the ’05 draft and moved him to C.
WAYNE LUCIER
6-3 1/2
315
26
FA-'06
Colorado
Two-year starter in college and seventh-round pick by Giants in ’03. Started 20 games in 2003 and ’04, including eight at C, seven at LG and five at RG